This invention relates to a method for the manufacture of ion exchange resins and more specifically to a method for the manufacture of ion exchange resins having a granular activated carbon as the matrix thereof.
Generally, ion exchange resins formed of monovinyl monomers or polyvinyl monomers, particularly those based on styrene, come in particle diameters usually ranging from 50 mesh (0.297 mm) to 16 mesh (1.19 mm). They are produced by first preparing granular copolymers through dispersion polymerization and introducing ion exchange groups into the resultant copolymers. According to this method of polymerization, the largest possible particle diameter in which the granular copolymers are obtained is about 14 mesh (1.41 mm). Recently, ion exchange resins referred to as "giant resins" have been prepared and have particle diameters of from 30 mesh (0.59 mm) to 16 mesh (1.19 mm). It is now, however, desriable to provide ion exchange resins having an even greater particle size diameter.
Various ion exchange resins of large particle diameters based on monovinyl monomers and/or polyvinyl monomers are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4144/1957. A review of the publication, however, reveals that the methods taught therein are not able to readily produce ion exchange resins of uniform particle size diameters in a commercial quantity.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a method for producing an ion exchange resin of a large, uniform particle diameter in commercially utilizable quantities.